Ole Miss knocks off Florida in double OT

Published 7:52 pm Sunday, January 7, 2018

OXFORD — Ole Miss allowed a huge lead to dwindle away in the second half Sunday afternoon, but still got to go home with a smile.

Promise Taylor finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, Alissa Alston had 14 points and seven rebounds, and the Rebels beat Florida 78-75 in double overtime to snap a two-game losing streak.

Ole Miss (11-5, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) led by 15 points midway through the third quarter, but Florida (8-8, 0-3) rallied to force overtime on a layup by Dyandria Anderson with less than a second to play in the fourth quarter.

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Alston returned the favor in the first overtime, hitting a layup at the buzzer to tie it at 70 and force a second extra period.

In the second overtime, Madinah Muhammad drove the lane, was fouled and hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds remaining to put the Rebels ahead 76-75. Florida turned the ball over on its ensuing possession and Muhammad hit two more free throws to seal it.

A desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer by Haley Lorenzen was off the mark.

Muhammad finished with 11 points and nine assists for the Rebels.

Lorenzen finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Florida, and Funda Nakkasoglu added 18 points. The Gators committed 11 of their 18 turnovers in the first half and trailed 31-21 at halftime.

“We fought hard at the end, but again, we had such a dismal start with turnovers at the beginning of the game,” Florida coach Cameron Newbauer said. “We need more out of our upperclassmen, playing with the ball, handling pressure, being aggressive. We weren’t ready out of the gate for some reason but battled back. It’s tough to swallow this one when you fight back so hard and have some really good moments here and there.”